Page 166 - Chinese Works of Art Chritie's Mar. 22-23 2018

833

PROPERTY OF THE JOHNSTON FAMILY, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
833 834
A PAIR OF FAMILLE ROSE BOWLS AN UNUSUAL FAMILLE ROSE ‘HUNDRED DEER’ HU-FORM VASE
XUANTONG SIX-CHARACTER MARKS IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE GUANGXU SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN IRON-RED
AND OF THE PERIOD (1908-1911) AND OF THE PERIOD (1875-1908)
Each bowl is decorated in famille rose enamels with four conjoined lotus The vase of pear shape is fnely decorated with a continuous scene of the
sprays alternating with Buddhist emblems. ‘hundred deer’ motif depicting a gathering of bucks and does amidst various
trees including pine and peach, in a landscape of blue-green rocks and
5º in. (13.1 cm.) diam., cloth box
(2) mountains, and a river fed by a waterfall on one side. The neck is fanked by
$6,000-8,000 a pair of handles in the form of deer heads with black antlers.
12¬ in. (32.4 cm.) high
清宣統 粉彩八吉祥盌一對 六字楷書款
$20,000-30,000

PROVENANCE
Major Felix J. Streyckmans Collection, acquired during the Chicago World’s
Fair in 1931-1932, and thence by descent within the family.
The ‘hundred deer’ motif was very popular, as the landscape depicted
contains important symbolic references. The subject of deer has a long
history in Chinese art, as it refers to the rebus where the Chinese word for
‘deer’ is a homophone for ‘emolument’ or ‘civil service salary’. The ‘hundred
deer’ motif therefore represents the ultimate success, a career in government
service in Imperial China.
A Qianlong-marked vase of larger size (45 cm.) in the Beijing Palace
833 (marks) 834 (mark) Museum, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace
Museum - 39 - Porcelains with Cloisonné Enamel Decoration and Famille
Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 85. Other examples include a pair in
the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Selected Ceramics from the Collection
of Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Hu, Shanghai, 1989, pl. 67; one in the Nanjing Museum,
included in the joint exhibition with The Chinese University of Hong Kong,
Qing Imperial Porcelain, 1995, no. 86; and another from the Grandidier
Collection in the Musée Guimet, Paris, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics,
The World’s Great Collections, Tokyo, 1981, vol. 7, pl. 190.
清光緒 粉彩百鹿尊 礬紅六字楷書款

164